WATERFOWL PRODUCTION SURVEY Northern Saskatchewan and Northern Manitoba

July 1959

by

Fred A. Glover and Joe Perroux WATERFOWL PRODUCTION SURVEY OF NORTHERN SASKATCHEWAN AND NORTHERN MANITOBA, JULY 1959 by

Fred A. Glover and Joe Perroux

Introduction

In previous years the starting date of this survey has varied :from July 4-10. With this years nesting season regarded as beiDg about two weeks later than normal, the survey was started in Ma.ni toba on July 17 and terminated in northern Saskatchewan on July 22.

With an obvious waterfowl population shift brought about by drought conditions throughout much of the Prairies, the objective of this survey was to obtain information on duck production in the survey area as indicated by the number of broods present and to ascertain the strength of the late nesting effort as evidenced by the number of p:Lirs, drakes and hens observed.

Methods Used and Area Covered

The survey was flown using FWS Grumman Goose aircraft N-778, manned by Pilot-observer Fred A. Glover and Co-pilot observer Joe Perroux, both from the U. S. Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife. The standard k mile aerial transect was used as the unit of survey with all transect data being divided into 18-mile segments to facilitate statistical analysis. All waterfowl observed on the transect were recorded with the aid of a Dictaphone as to species, pairs, lone drakes, flocked birds, and 'Qr broods as to age class and number.

The survey area consisted of flying the permanent transects located in northern Saskatchewan and northern Manitoba north of 53 degrees latitude. The transects were identical with those flown in May and June of this year. No production surveys were conducted in this area during 1957 and 1958. However, the coverage and data obtained this year is comparable to 1955 and 1956, the last two years in which production surveys were conducted. Information on the survey coverage is given in table 1.

Weather and Water Conditions

The nesting and production season was retarded this year by a late spring break-up and a long series of cold periods. However, since mid-June the weather has been favorable to waterfowl production givlng the birds every opportunity to bring off a crop of ducklings. water con­ ditions throughout the survey area have remained fairly constant although both the Saskatchewan River Delta and the Athabasca River Delta have experienced same minor flooding in the lowland areas. Nevertheless, it is not believed that duck productipp in these are~will be materially affected by the flooding.

Survey Results and Forecast

The status of waterfowl :production within the survey area is given in table 2. Additional data ccm];S.ring the 1959 :production survey with :previous years is shown in tables 3 and 4.

Because of the lateness of the season, many of the ducks normally nesting in the Far North were forced to set up housekeeping further south. It is also known that large numbers of displaced ducks from the Prairies forged northward to nest. This resulted in a squeezing action which materialized into one of the heaviest concentrations of breeding waterfowl ever recorded by our surveys for the northern forested areas. As a con­ sequence the production picture from this area may be somewhat misleading. When compared to the production in 1955 and 1956, it is evident from the survey data that a slightly above average number of waterfowl will be produced in the North this year. In appraising the relative value of this production, it should be remembered that during 1955 and 1956 the Prairies were in peak production while in the North production remained at a more or less "normal". Now this year, w1 th a concentrated breeding population in the area, the production has developed into only slightlY above average which again may be regarded as normal production for the area. The important point to keep in mind is that even though water­ fowl production is up slightly for northern Saskatche-wan and northern Manitoba, it is not likely that the total number of birds produced in this area will anywheres near compensate for the loss in production experienced this season on the Prairies. Table 1

AmiAL COVERAGE DURIHl PRODUCTION SURVEY - JULY 1959 Lineal Sq. Province Strata Area Sq.Mi. No.l8 mi.Seg. Miles Miles- M3.nitoba Closed Forest 67,360 55 990 247.5 "ctt M3.nitoba Sask.Riv.Delta 3,960 12 216 54.0 "D., Saskatchewan Closed Forest 40,990 61 1,098 274.5 S. of 55° 30' "en Saskatchewan Closed Forest 111,070 17 306 76-5 N. of 55° 30' "C"

TOTAL 223,38o 145 2,610 652.5

2 Table 2 COMPARISON OF YOUNG AND LATE NESTING INDEX 1959 to 1955 and 1956 No. Yo?Df:? LNI Stratum 1955 1956 1959 1955 1956 1959 Manitoba C 58,958 1,936 25,170 29,128 2,128 9,128 Manitoba D 29,525 7,330 19,864 10,408 7,037 3,518 Sask. c.south 45,820 11,026 61,769 10,530 4,794 9,250 Sask. C North 8o,o66 86,386 58,068 13,244 27,767 17,420 TOTAL 214,369 306,678 164,871 63,310 41,726 39,316

Table 3

BROOD A'ND LATE llESTQ;H:t :UIDEX DATA RECORDED DUCKS STRATA Broods Manitoba C M:Lnitoba D Sask. C South Sask. C. North CTh.ss·r 2 14 3 0 Class II 6 23 27 5 Class III 11 26 57 4 Unclassified 0 0 1 0 TOTAL BROODS 19 63 88 9

Complete II & III Broods 16 36 63 7 No. in Broods 77 155 297 31 Average 4.8 4.3 4.7 4.4

Identified Fairs 10 11 14 2 Identified Singles 14 30 21 6 Unidentified Pairs 5 4 12 1 ":) Unidentified Singles 4 .j 15 3 LATE NESTIID INDEX 33 48 62 12

3 Table 4 COMPARISON OF BROOD CLASSIFICATION

Class I Class II Class ID: Stratum 1955 1956 1959 1955 195b 1959 1955 1956 1959

Manitoba C 22 10 2 15 1 6 5 0 11 Manitoba D 29 16 14 14 4 23 2 0 26

Sa.sk. c South 27 4 3 23 10 27 4 2 57

Sa.sk. C North 10 19 0 6 5 5 1 0 4

TOTAL 88 49 19 58 20 61 12 2 98

PER CENT 56% 69% 11~0 37% 28% 34~ 7% 3% 55%

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